Paul Chiasson
The blood just got badder between Montreal's Jean Pascal and ring legend Bernard Hopkins.
Pascal threw the first nasty blow of the much-anticipated WBC light heavyweight title rematch when he called Hopkins a cheater and asked that they both take anti-doping blood tests before and after the fight.
The two exchanged shoves and Hopkins even threw a left hook at a raucous news conference Monday to promote their May 21 bout at the Bell Centre.
"If you have nothing to hide, why not take the test?" the Montreal fighter said later. "I accuse no one of anything.
"People ask me if Bernard takes anything. I say no, but because Bernard refused to answer, now I ask the question: Is Bernard really clean? I'm ready to take the test at any time."
Hopkins responded by calling Pascal a "scared punk" who was preparing his excuses for losing in advance.
The two are to meet in a rematch of their Dec. 18 clash in Quebec City in which Pascal (26-1-1) retained the WBC title by the slimmest of margins - a majority draw - against Hopkins (51-5-2).
Currently, the only dope testing at championship matches are urine tests taken after, and in some jurisdictions also before, a fight. Blood tests, which are used to find endurance-enhancing substances like EPO, and not taken.
Theatrics and even shoving and half-hearted punches are not uncommon at fight news conferences, but the 28-year-old champions' suggestion that one of the best known boxers in the world may be a drug cheat was an unexpected twist.
It follows up on welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s calls for blood testing as a condition for facing star fighter Manny Pacquiao - the much-anticipated mega-fight that has yet to materialize.
Hopkins, who turned 46 on Jan. 15, had been winning the trash-talk war until one of Pascal's friends in the crowd yelled out "blood tests" and the Montreal fighter asked if he was willing to undergo blood tests during training camp and before and after the bout.
Hopkins laughed it off at first, but was not happy when Pascal mentioned that his trainer, Nazim Richardson, also works with Shane Mosley, a fighter named in testimony into the BALCO drugs scandal in California.
It ended in a scuffle, with Pascal repeatedly shouting "you're a cheater," before security guards separated them.
"I got ambushed," said Hopkins. "That's classless.
"It's very disrespectful and undermining of what we're here for. We're here to promote the fight. Instead he found a way to skirt the real issue and make accusations, saying 'I didn't say it but the fans do.' That's so weak."
He said he had two lawyers at the news conference but "I'm not going to deal with that on that level because, first of all, on May 21st, you'll witness one of the greatest of my performances. That will top a lot of stuff."
Hopkins said clean living and a dedication to training are what have kept him youthful looking in and out of the ring since he debuted as a pro in 1988.
The man known as B-Hop won the vacant IBF middleweight title in 1994 and defended it a record 22 times until a pair of losses to Jermaine Taylor in 2005.
Should he defeat Pascal, he will top former heavyweight George Foreman as the oldest champion of a major fight sanctioning organization.
Pascal said doubts were raised among some fans because Hopkins had been known for pacing himself through fights in the past and was coming off two listless bouts before their Quebec City meeting, when he battled hard through 12 rounds.
He suggested blood testing "to show the fans that we are clean fighters and that boxing is a clean sport."
Veteran fight referee and judge Guy Jutras lauded Pascal for bringing attention to the issue. Trainer and broadcaster Russ Anber said performance enhancing drugs have invaded all sports, including boxing, and that it was time for more thorough testing.
"The rules have to adjust to the reality of the sport today," Anber said.
Many came away from the first meeting feeling Hopkins had won. Pascal knocked him down twice early, but Hopkins dominated the later rounds. One judge had Hopkins the winner, but the other two scored it even, making it a majority decision that allowed Pascal to keep the title.
Before their news conference turned nasty, the WBC presented Hopkins with a ceremonial belt as an "emeritus" champion.
Pascal jokingly offered his own "real" belt so Hopkins wouldn't try to steal it. It was a reference both to the fact that Hopkins spent time in jail before his fight career and to the Philadelphia fighter having grabbed the belt off him at a news conference before their first fight.
Hopkins said he would keep it because "I deserve it."
Pascal also presented two pacifiers, one for Hopkins and another for his promoter, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, who he called crybabies for protesting the judges' decision in Quebec City.
Hopkins had an answer for that too, saying he had a baby due in April and needed a pacifier.
There were no smiles about the testing question, however. Hopkins said he would submit to any tests the boxing commision required and no more.
"Do you do something just because someone tells you to? Am I a puppet?" he said. "I do all the orders of what the commission says.
"Why, all of a sudden in my 23-year career, is a scared punk named Pascal going to demand that of a legend, at 46 years old, who has been called unique from Day One? And he's trying to attach something to me because my trainer trains Shane Mosley. What do you expect from a guy that's too young and thinks he's something he's not?"
The co-feature has Adrian Diaconu (27-2) of Montreal against Chad Dawson (29-1). The winner is to face the Pascal-Hopkins winner for the title.